An introduction to programming Mindstorms NXT robots using the NXT-G programming toolkit by Lego is provided in this book. The toolkit has a simple graphical interface that is meant to simplify programming for novices. It is not clear why Lego provides two variations of the toolkit, which share the same name and are almost identical, as the book points out, but not exactly identical, thus creating some obvious confusion among users.

The book covers every step needed to write programs, starting from no knowledge of programming and slowly bringing in additional programming constructs. Given the nature of the toolkit, where programming is done graphically by clicking and dropping boxes and connecting them, the book is full of black-and-white screen images. A short appendix covers some of the simple mathematics needed for coordinate conversion. The book includes only snippets of programs, added as new programming constructs are introduced.

I would have liked to see a more complex program built out of the individual pieces. This would provide readers with a better sense of how to program the robots to do something more complex. Overall, the book is clear and well written, intended for an audience with no programming skills who need step-by-step instructions; readers with more advanced knowledge will find the book too basic.